


Hard Reset

by shiny_glor_chan



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Day 3: Alternate Universe, Day 5: Family/Pack, M/M, Scerek Week, The Hale Pack - Freeform, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-30 20:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1022863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiny_glor_chan/pseuds/shiny_glor_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott couldn't save his mom or his friends' parents from being sacrificed, and everything goes downhill from there. ...until he's blacking out, bleeding on the Nemeton, and waking up in the past to find a young Derek Hale staring down at him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I have a two more finished chapters after this prologue. I just wanted to get this up for Scerek Week. Usually, if I post a WIP, it's a kiss of death, so I've stopped doing it for years. BUT, I have people to kick me if I stop, so. This will happen, dammit. <3
> 
> Thank you to [youdickbag](http://archiveofourown.org/users/youdickbag/pseuds/youdickbag) for the title, because my brain is shit at titles. <3

Scott collapses against the Nemeton in a heap as he clutches his stomach wound and breathes harshly through his mouth. Blood seeps through his fingers as he blinks back tears. His eyes flash bright red without a hint of gold as he slumps and curls up against the roots of the Nemeton.

“I couldn't save anyone,” he murmurs quietly, a sob escaping his lips soon after. “This shouldn't have happened.”

Leaning against the tree, Scott closes his eyes. He wishes it'd all been a dream as he slowly bleeds out. He can't heal, not when he couldn't save Stiles' dad or his mom. Joining the alpha pack meant nothing, since the darach got what she wanted and destroyed them once she sacrificed the last guardian, Allison's dad.

The image of Jennifer's swift retaliation, overflowing with power is seared in Scott's mind. He's lucky she allowed him to leave with only an almost fatal wound. Not that he feels lucky, as he feels a jolt course through him. He blinks blearily and sees his blood dripping steadily onto the roots of the tree.

He swallows thickly before he notices a flash of light above him. Above him, the five fold knot carved into the Nemeton is the last thing Scott sees before he blacks out.

* * *

Scott blinks his eyes open blearily to see someone standing over him. “Who are you?” the other teen questions. “Why are you here? You shouldn't be here- Holy shit, you're bleeding!”

“Yeah, I am,” Scott agrees with a wince. “You wouldn't happen to have a first aid kit around?”

The other teen shakes his head. “No, uhhh,” he trails off. “You should be dead from that much... You're a werewolf too! Why can't I smell you?”

“Too?” Scott wonders as his head lolls back. “I think alphas can hide their scents instinctively. I'm kinda new to this...”

“An alpha? What the hell are you doing in my mother's territory without permission?” the teen growls, his eyes flaring gold.

Scott's pretty sure he's still in Beacon Hills, considering the Nemeton is behind him, but there are no alphas he knows of other than the alpha pack, himself, and Derek, before he gave it up to save Cora. He's about to question it when someone else comes down the stairs in a hurry.

“Peter!” the teen announces, turning to the man as Scott mouths the same name in shock. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, nephew,” Peter replies as his eyes fall on Scott, who's staring at him with wide eyes. “Who's our guest?”

“An alpha who doesn't belong here,” the teen says unhappily. 

“Derek,” Peter chastises, and Scott's eyes turn to stare at Derek, who looks way too young to be the Derek he knows. “We'll let Talia decide what to do with him. It's best we don't just let him bleed out when we don't who is pack is.”

Derek rolls his eyes. “He's my age. How big of a pack could he have?”

“Not our decision,” Peter replies airily as he carefully approaches Scott. “Now, you're not gonna lash out are you, kid? Alpha made wounds are a bitch to heal.”

Scott holds back a scowl. “I'm not an animal,” he says as Peter lifts him up, and the world starts to go off kilter then fade into darkness.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott wakes up again to find himself surrounded by Hales...ones that should be dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck more titles, ohmygod. Chaptered fics are scary things, man.

Scott wakes up to the feel of gentle hands tending to his wounds. When he opens his eyes, he sees an eerily familiar face staring back at him. Laura Hale's face is definitely one that had burned into his mind after seeing half her corpse. 

“Hey, you're awake,” Laura says then turns to the dark haired woman behind her that Scott hadn't noticed before. “Mom, why isn't he healing like an alpha?”

Talia crouches down beside the sofa Scott's sprawled on and looks over his wounds before looking up to his face. “You're not letting yourself heal,” she states. “Why?”

Scott winces. “I... My mother and my best friend's dad died, and I couldn't stop it,” he murmurs truthfully.

Talia's face soften at the words as she places her hand over his wounds, taking away some of his pain. “You're about my son's age. No one should have that kind of responsibility put on their shoulders,” she says. “Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault.”

“How could you know?” Scott asks, swallowing the tears back that threaten to spill over with the memory of finding his mom's corpse next to Sheriff Stilinski's along with Allison's father, sacrificed to take out the alpha pack he had joined reluctantly to stop the darach. 

“I have a sense about these things,” Talia answers with a smile and a flash of her bright, red alpha eyes. “And as a mother, I know that if whatever happened to you had happened to my son or daughters, I'd want them to keep going.”

Scott mind flits to the Derek he knows, who never seems to give up even when the whole world is against him, and he thinks he knows Derek a little better now. But he doesn't understand how he's talking to Derek's long dead mother, and now that he's paying a bit more attention to his surroundings, he even recognizes the room he's in. He's had so many fights with Derek in this very room, and it's where he got his tattoo, too. Seeing it as it was before is almost as surreal as the living Hales that are in front of him but he knows are dead.

Talia pulls her hand away, and the return of a dull throb of pain in his abdomen brings him back to the situation in front of him. The Hale women are watching him carefully, and Scott gets nervous. Whatever is going on, he probably shouldn't tell Talia and Laura they're dead. He needs to talk to someone who could make sense of this.

“You know Deaton, right?” Scott blurts out, and Talia's eyes narrow suspiciously.

“How do you know Deaton?” she asks evenly, and Laura takes that as a cue to slip out of the room without a word.

“It's a long story,” Scott tells her, but she's not amused. “It's something I can only talk to him about. If I tell you, it might cause some...problems.”

Talia sighs. “You're almost as cryptic as Alan, so you must know him,” she says drily. “I'll call him. My son will be keeping an eye on you, so don't go injuring yourself further.”

Scott looks around and spots Derek standing behind him with crossed arms that aren't nearly as intimidating with his smaller, teenage frame. Talia smiles at her son before leaving the room. Scott watches Derek watching him from halfway across the room.

“You know, I don't bite,” Scott says jokingly.

Derek rolls his eyes, and wow, Scott didn't know Derek perfected that so early in his life. “That doesn't worry me,” he replies. “I bite back.”

Scott snorts. “I'm sure you do, Derek,” he tells him with a grin, and Derek crinkles his nose instead scowling like Scott would've expected.

“Don't make fun of me just because you're an alpha. Who did you kill to get that power, huh?” he asks meanly. “Was your alpha already dying or something?”

“Derek!” Laura's voice calls out from the other room before she appears in the doorway with a scowl. “That's none of your business, and his mother just died. That was out of his control.”

Scott swallows thickly at the mention of his mother, and Laura's countenance softens as she approaches them. “Sorry about my rude little brat of a brother,” she apologizes before cuffing Derek upside the head. “He's going through this suspicious phase. I told mom he needs to spend less time around Peter-”

“Laura!” Derek interrupts with a shout, and there's the scowl Scott knows. 

Scott chuckles despite himself, jostling his bandages. “Sounds like Peter's a bad influence,” he says, knowing that to be the complete truth.

Derek rolls his eyes. “You don't even know him,” he says to Scott with a glare.

“I guess not,” Scott replies, tensing when he hears Peter chuckling from the top of the staircase.

Laura notices Scott tense then turns to look up at Peter sourly. “Can you stop creeping around like a villain from a noir film and act like a normal uncle?” she asks.

Peter shrugs elegantly with a smirk. “What ever do you mean, niece of mine,” he says lightly then his grin widens. “Ah, it seems the vet is here to give Derek his shots. He is due, you know.”

Derek grinds his teeth as he glares up at his uncle. “I'm going to smother you in your sleep,” he promises as he stalks toward the stairs. “Or maybe I won't wait until you're asleep.”

Swiftly, Peter disappears upstairs with a smarmy grin with Derek hot on his heels. “Boys,” Laura says with a sigh as she heads to open the door before the knocking even starts. “You'd think Peter wasn't a grown man sometimes.”

Scott bites back a smile as he watches Laura open the front door to reveal Alan Deaton, quite a few years younger than Scott knows him but clearly the same man. His gaze falls to Scott curiously as Laura ushers him inside. Scott carefully tries to sit up, but Laura eases him back down to the couch firmly.

“Stay put, kid,” she orders before glancing to Deaton. “You'll keep him in line?”

Deaton nods, and Laura throws Scott a stern look before she leaves the room. “I've been told you needed to speak with me?” 

Scott nods. “It'd probably be best if the Hales didn't hear this discussion,” he admits.

“Talia mentioned as much,” Deaton replies, digging into his messenger bag of supplies slung over his shoulder. “This blend of mountain ash should suffice for our purposes.”

“Okay,” Scott agrees reluctantly as Deaton tosses the ash above his head and makes a perfect circle around them. “They can't hear us?”

“Not until I break the circle,” Deaton states. “Now, I've been told you were found by the Nemeton.”

With a wince at the name of the tree, Scott nods. “I think it's sent me into the past,” he confesses in a rush. “You don't know me, and the Hales are...”

Deaton lifts a hand, cutting off Scott's explanation. “I think that's enough,” he states. “You can't tell me anymore.”

Scott bites his cheek. “What do I do? I can't stay here... I know too much about...everything.”

“This is true,” Deaton agrees, looking thoughtful. “Things usually happen for a reason. Your blood activated the Nemeton, so there must be some purpose. The universe tends to try to right itself when something has set it off balance.”

“I need to fix something here in the past, and I'll be able to go back to my time?” Scott questions, even though he's not sure if he wants to go back; it would mean dealing with his dead mother and his dead friends' fathers. “Do you think... Will it fix whatever's gone wrong in the future?”

Deaton falls silent for a moment before nodding. “It should. Whatever happened has disturbed the balance of the universe. It's likely it won't occur, if you find the moment in time you were sent back to change.”

Scott bites back a smile, because he could go home, and all their parents could be fine, like nothing happened. “How do I know? There's a lot I don't exactly know how to fix and if I should.”

Not that Scott doesn't want to save the Hales, but what if that's too big of an event to fix? It's not like he can kill Kate in good conscience, and knowing Gerard Argent, that could only lead to something worse. He's not even exactly sure where he is in the timeline, except Derek still has gold eyes. Scott's eyes widen at that revelation, and he knows he needs to at least save Derek from Peter's machinations and accidentally sacrificing his girlfriend, giving Jennifer the power she needs.

Then Scott can't help but wonder if the pack meeting as happened yet. “Deaton, I know this might be a serious breach of trust with Talia, but I need to know when Talia is going to be meeting with Deucalion's, Kali's, and Ennis' packs. It's important.”

Deaton frowns. “A week from now,” he states. “I'm not going to ask why you know about it, but should I tell Talia you will be in attendance? You are an alpha too. You'd have a right to be there.”

“Thanks,” Scott murmurs. “It's really important. A week... Okay, that gives me enough time to figure out _something_ to say without sounding crazy.”

“You are quite remarkable,” Deaton tells him with a small smile. “An alpha at your age and without your pack, but yet, you haven't completely given up.”

“There's too much at stake to give up,” Scott tells him earnestly. “You can break the mountain ash circle. I think I'm ready.”

“Good luck, Scott. I assume you know where my clinic is.” Scott nods, and Deaton breaks the ash circle with ease. “Don't put too much strain on yourself until you allow those wounds to heal.”

“Yeah. Thanks, doc,” Scott says as Deaton to pack his bag back up. “I'll contact you if I need anymore...advising.”

Deaton chuckles, snapping his bag shut. “Talia has my number. It was a pleasure to meet you, Scott.”

“Same,” Scott agrees, watching Deaton until he slips out the front door without another word.

Scott slumps on the couch, looking down at his chest at the bandages, and he can already feel his wounds healing. He knows he needs a game plan for next week, but a thought occurs to him when he hears Derek stomping down the stairs a scowl on his face.

“Hey, Derek,” Scott calls out, trying to sound casual. “Have a girlfriend yet?”

“What? How is that any of your business?” Derek asks unhappily. 

“He's pathetically single, is what he means to say!” Peter shouts from upstairs.

Derek twitches then bounds back up the stairs, and Scott bites the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

* * *

Laura looks over Scott's healed up wounds and gives him a curious look. “Decided not to give up then?” she asks with a grin.

“I remembered I have a pack that needs me, even...” Scott says, trailing off then shaking his head and repeating the mantra that if he does this right, his mom will fine. “They're important. Uhh, do you think Mrs. Hale would mind if I crashed here for a bit? I won't be able to head home for at least another week.”

“Ask her,” Laura tells him as Talia walks into the room.

“Call me Talia, dear,” she says as she checks Scott over herself. “And stay as long as you need. We have a guest room. Laura can show you up there. You can borrow some of Derek's clothes, since you don't seem to have any belongings with you.”

Scott knows Talia's suspicious of him, but he's sure she's at least not suspicious of his intentions. From what he's gotten from meeting the alpha of the Hale pack, if Talia thought he had an ill intentions toward her pack, he would have ousted within the first few minutes. He has to admire her for her fierce dedication and love for her pack.

“Yeah, it was kind of...sudden,” he admits without lying; it had been sudden. 

Talia smiles softly. “Well, get yourself settled in then. Laura.”

Laura stands and motions for Scott to follow her. “We'll stop by Derek's room and steal a few things of his. Your clothes are pretty much a loss.”

Scott looks down at his jeans, since his torn and bloodied shirt had been gone and replaced by bandages when he woke up in the Hales' living room, and he knows she's right. “Will Derek mind?” he asks.

“Doesn't matter. You're a guest, and mom said so,” she replies, a bit gleefully as she pushes open Derek's bedroom door. “Hey, dork. Gimme some of your clothes for Scott to borrow while he's staying here.”

Derek's head snaps up from the book he was reading. “What? No,” he tells her. “Why is he staying here anyway? Doesn't he have a pack to get back to?”

Laura rolls her eyes as she just walks towards Derek's chest of drawers and starts digging. “Mom's word is law, and you know it, so stop being a jerk about it. He's staying for at least a week.”

“Great,” Derek grumbles as he slams his book shut and tosses it on the bed before rushing over to Laura. “I'll get him clothes. Stop digging through my stuff, Laura!”

“Okay,” Laura replies, dropping the clothing she had picked out. “He'll be staying in the guest room, so drop them off before dinner, baby bro.”

Derek scowls. “Fine. Leave now, will you?”

Laura grins as she puts her hand on Scott's shoulder to lead him back into the hallway, and door slams behind her. “Your room's right here, next to Derek's,” she explains as she pushes the door open. “If you need anything, bug him, okay? I have to go pick up Cora from ballet before dinner.”

Scott nods. “Thanks,” he murmurs as he takes in the room. “I really appreciate how you guys are taking me in like this.”

“No problem,” Laura tells him. “No one should have to deal with the loss of their mother alone. So really, I need to run, but feel free to bother Derek for company. ...not Peter, though.”

“No worries there,” Scott replies then backpedals immediately, since Peter hasn't murdered anyone yet. “Not that I-”

Laura snorts. “If you don't trust Peter, you've got the right idea,” she states coolly.

Scott bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from blurting out how right it is, and that Laura will need to watch her back in a few years, if he can't keep the Hale fire from happening. After another cursory round of goodbyes, Laura leaves, and Scott flops back on the bed, an arm over his face.

After a few minutes of laying there and stewing his own thoughts, Scott hears Derek approaching then pushing the door open. “Don't ruin these,” he warns as he places them on the bureau by the bed.

Sitting up, Scott runs a hand through his hair. “I won't,” he promises with a smile. “Thanks, Derek.”

Derek shrugs. “I didn't really have a choice in the matter,” he states, crossing his arms. “I'm going to have to run through the wash five times before they stop smelling like a stranger.”

Scott keeps himself from snorting, not wanting to antagonize Derek anymore than he already has. “Rather I walk around naked then?” he asks, unable to help himself; he's so used to a Derek he can't poke fun of and get an actual reaction other than a flat stare.

A flush creeps up Derek's neck. “Ugh, no,” he mutters. “You are so weird.”

“Yeah,” Scott agrees then gives Derek a sincere smile. “Before I leave, I'll wash your clothes five times for you, okay?”

Derek huffs a reluctant laugh. “I guess that works,” he says, shuffling his feet. “Dinner should be ready in a bit. Just come down when you're clean and dressed. The bathroom's across the hall.”

Scott nods. “See you at dinner, then?”

“Don't take too long,” Derek warns. “Mom puts everyone to work with dinner, even if you're a guest.”

“I'd be glad to help,” Scott replies, and with that Derek leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Scott sifts through the pile of clothes, grabbing something to wear before heading to take a shower. He can still smell his blood and...everything else from the battle with Jennifer. Once in the shower, he scrubs himself raw to rid himself of the scent of his mom's blood, of the Sheriff's blood, of just everything he's going to fix once he knows how. When he gets back home, none of it will have happened. Scott will make sure of it.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a liiiittle continuity error in the prologue (Derek and the flowers), but I nipped that in the bud. All better. This chapter is where the Scerek starts, yay! Warning, I don't have the next chapter started yet, so it might be a little long in coming. 
> 
> I have a few fics for bdays and such, as well as a fic I shoulda finished MONTHS ago. Then there's Dallison week... So yeah, this next chapter might take a bit. I won't give up, though! <3

The irony of the current situation doesn't escape Scott as he watches Derek enter his high school the next morning. It's a role reversal Scott never expected, and it makes him wonder how often Derek did this to him without Scott's notice. 

He knows that he never would have noticed Derek in the first few months of being a werewolf, but if Scott weren't an alpha right now, this younger Derek would catch is scent in a heartbeat. Scott never really noticed how different born werewolves are compared to a bitten wolf like himself. Sure, he noticed some differences between him and the few Hales left before, but it's even more different with a Hale pack at full power with only born werewolves.

For the most part, the day goes along smoothly without any incidents. Derek's surprisingly popular, but Scott figures he should be less surprised; of course Derek's a different person before the fire. It would be weird if he were still broody and depressing before his life went wrong.

Scott finds out more he didn't know, like Derek's a star player on the basketball team, which is definitely the school's most popular sport. It's weird that lacrosse doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar, but lots of things can change over the course of seven years. 

“Hale, we have practice. Stop showing off,” one of Derek's classmates gripes teasingly as Derek just spins the basketball on his finger before bouncing it around like it's nothing.

“Natural talent,” Derek corrects with a grin then an impromptu game of basketball slash keep away starts up in the hallway.

Soon after the game begins, a girl stomps out from the hallway where Scott remembers the music room resides. 

“Hey, do you guys mind?” she asks Derek, and he scoops the ball up on the up bounce, turning towards her. “I'm trying to practice.”

The boys just laugh, and Scott frowns at the scene. “How do you know we're not trying to practice here too?” Derek asks with faux innocence.

“Yeah, well, see, I was practicing in the music room, and I'm pretty sure basketball practice takes place in the gym,” she states, glaring at Derek and his team.

“Well I'm pretty sure basketball practice takes place anywhere you got a basketball,” he retorts smugly, and Scott thinks this has gone on long enough.

Scott slips past the basketball team and snatches the ball from Derek's hand with ease. “Good thing you don't have a basketball anymore then,” he tells Derek who stares at him with wide eyes while the other boys are left speechless while Scott turns to the girl.

She looks impressed for a moment and smiles. “Thanks,” she murmurs.

“No problem,” Scott says as Derek tells his team to wait for him in the gym. “You go and practice. I have to talk with Derek over here.”

“I don't even think I've seen you at school here,” she says, running a hand through her hair. “I'm Paige.”

“Uh, Scott,” he offers in return, hoping he doesn't stare too much, because he didn't know this was Paige.

With another smile for Scott then a quick glare for Derek, Paige turns on her heel and heads back to the music room. “What the hell is your problem? How long have you been here?” Derek ask angrily after spinning Scott around to face him. “Were you following me all day?”

Scott flushes, and he knows Derek can tell that yes, Scott had been following him all day. Derek scowls. “Did Laura send you? I know she hates when Peter hangs around me at school, but he's harmless,” Derek says defensively.

“I don't think Peter is someone I would call harmless,” Scott replies, glad for a change of topic. 

“You don't even know him,” Derek tells him, his teeth bared. 

Scott raises his hands in defense. “Look, I just don't get a good vibe from him, and Laura told me to stick with that,” he admits. “You trust your sister's judgment, right?”

Derek's anger falters until it drains out of him with a sigh. “It's complicated. I should able to trust both of them.”

“Believe me, I understand,” Scott agrees, passing Derek back the basketball. “I had to figure out the hard way that I couldn't trust my dad like I could trust my mom.”

“I guess family's more complicated than just being blood related,” Derek mutters, gripping the basketball in his hands. “Look, sorry for snapping at you.”

Scott shrugs. “No big deal. I just showed up out of nowhere. I wouldn't trust me right away either.”

“My mom trusts you and so does Laura,” Derek says quietly before giving Scott a half smile. “That's good enough for me. I know I trust their judgment.”

Scott bites back a smile but fails miserably. “Thanks. I think it'd be kinda lonely otherwise.”

Derek frowns. “So, where is your pack? Why aren't you with them?”

“Long story that I can't really get into,” Scott says apologetically. “It's a safety issue. I'm sorry.”

“I understand,” Derek replies, turning the basketball between his hands. “Keeping your pack safe is the most important thing.”

“Yeah,” Scott agrees then gives Derek a little nudge. “C'mon. Don't you have basketball practice to get to? You know, _not_ in the hallway?”

Derek rolls his eyes and grins. “Fine. You're going to practice with us.”

“I'm more of a lacrosse kinda guy,” Scott says as he follows Derek down the hall towards the gym.

“What's lacrosse?” he asks curiously, and Scott snorts. 

“It's popular at my school, but I guess not everywhere,” Scott answers with a shrug. “I'll show you some time.”

“I'll hold you to that, but first, I'll show you how to play basketball.”

Scott laughs. “As long as you promise not to laugh if I trip and fall on my face.”

“No promises there,” Derek responds cheekily before pushing the gym doors open to greet his team and introduce Scott.

* * *

“You must have played before!” Derek exclaims as he and Scott walk home from the high school. “Just being a werewolf doesn't give you skill if you've never played before.”

“I might have played it once, but I had asthma as a kid, so...” Scott trails off with a shrug.

Derek's brows furrow. “Asthma? You're not a born werewolf?”

“Nope,” he replies, wondering if maybe he's said too much. “I was bitten. Uh, without my permission.”

“What? That's not- The bite's a gift. No alpha should do that. Is that why you're an alpha, then? Did you take him out because he did this to you?”

Scott shakes his head. “No, I- Someone else did for me. My alpha powers are...part of that long story I can't tell you about. I'm sorry, Derek.”

Derek sighs. “Fine, don't tell me. The more you don't tell me, the more I want to know about you.”

“You know curiosity killed the cat,” Scott warned with a grin that belayed his tone.

“Good thing I'm not a cat,” Derek answers, stepping into Scott's personal space. “Okay, so you won't tell me about your past. Can you tell me something else?”

Scott's breath gets caught in his throat. “What?”

“Are you going to claw my face off if I kiss you right now?”

Swallowing hard, Scott shakes his head. “No, why-”

Before Scott could finish his sentence, Derek leans in and presses his lips against his. Scott gasps in surprise, and Derek takes that as an invite to dart his tongue into Scott's mouth. After a moment more of standing there in shock, Scott melts into the kiss and tentatively kisses him back.

A wolf whistle sounds beside them, and Scott jumps away, turning to see Laura driving a familiar black Camaro. She smirks from the driver's seat, and Cora giggles from the passenger seat as both boys' faces heat up in embarrassment at being caught like that.

“You work fast, Scott,” Laura teases before looking at Derek. “Loser, I told you I was picking you up from basketball practice.

Derek scrubs his hands over his face in frustration. “Shut up, Laura,” he grumbles as he sullenly opens the passenger side door. “Get out, Cora.”

Cora sticks her tongue out at her older brother before standing beside Scott, sizing him up. Scott looks down curiously as the girl that should be the same age as him and waits. “Why do you even like him? Derek's kind of a jerk.”

“Cora,” Derek growls from the backseat as Scott laughs, ruffling Cora's hair.

“He's not always a jerk,” Scott tells her as he climbs into the backseat with Derek, pulling back the seat, so Cora can climb back in.

Laura snorts. “You clearly haven't known my little brother long enough.”

“Sisters,” Derek mutters under his breath, and Scott puts a hand on his knee, giving him a little comforting squeeze.

“I wouldn't know. I'm an only child,” Scott tells them, and Derek punches him in the arm. “Ow.”

“Lucky,” he grumbles, rubbing the spot he punched then glaring at Laura, who is looking back at them in the rear view mirror. “They're the worst.”

Laura pulls out into the street once everyone's buckled up. “Derek can get so melodramatic,” she says with a sigh. “Sometimes I wonder where he gets it from.”

“Maybe you?” Derek replies tauntingly, and Cora covers her mouth to keep from giggling.

“He's kinda right, Laura,” Cora agrees, pretending to look innocent when Laura levels a glare in her direction when they hit a stoplight.

“Since when do you side with Derek?”

“I do sometimes,” Cora defends. “I mean, your Camaro is kinda flashy.”

Derek laughs. “It's true. I'm not going to have a car _that_ flashy.”

Scott chokes on a snort, and Derek turns to look at him funny. “Nothing,” he says biting back a smile. “I mean, never says never, right?”

* * *

That night, Scott lies awake staring at the ceiling and trying to come up with a plan that will make the alphas at this meeting take him seriously. Nothing's coming to him, including sleep, but he's not sure what else he can do. Then his door creaks open, and Scott sits up to see Derek leaning in the doorway. Scott opens his mouth to speak, but Derek gestures for him to keep quiet and follow him.

Curious to what Derek could be up to in the middle of the night, Scott silently rolls out of bed and follows Derek downstairs and outside. He doesn't question him until they're far enough away from the house that no one would hear them. “Where we going?”

“Well, we were interrupted earlier, and making out in a house full of werewolves is kinda awkward,” Derek explains, looking over his shoulder to Scott with a grin. “Believe me, the times me and Cora caught Laura with a 'friend' are way too many to count.”

Scott chuckles. “So, learning from her mistakes?”

“Exactly,” Derek replies turning around to grab Scott by his sleep shirt. “Cute and smart. Seems like you're a better catch than I thought.”

“I'm a catch? Huh,” Scott says, feigning ignorance. “News to me.”

“Yeah, right,” Derek snorts, resting a hand on Scott's hip. “Are we going to make out or not?”

Scott grins before leaning into kiss Derek, pressing him against the tree behind him. Derek makes a pleased sound into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Scott's waist. Eagerly, Derek deepens the kiss and shifts a thigh between Scott's legs.

After losing himself in the kiss for a while, Scott's ears prick at a sound whizzing by. He breaks the kiss just in time to pull Derek down and an arrow to bury itself into the tree. “We have to go,” Scott whispers urgently, grabbing Derek's hand.

Derek runs with him, grasping his hand. “Hunters, here? Why?”

“Stop talking, just run, Derek,” Scott orders as they keep running, and he pulls them to turn through some trees until he trips over a body.

“Another werewolf,” Derek murmurs, seeing the arrow embedded in the guy's throat.

Scott swallows thickly as he pushes himself to his feet. “We have to keep moving,” he says, taking a deep breath. “I know where we can hide. Remember where you and Peter found me?”

Derek nods, and Scott takes his hand again. They take off towards the root cellar and duck inside before any of the hunters catch sight of them. Scott collapses against the tree roots he had bleed on only a few days prior, catching his breath as Derek slumps next to him.

They fall silent for a long time, listening for the hunters above them. Scott instinctively pulls Derek closer to him when the footsteps pass overhead. Derek looks up, worrying his lip, and Scott just holds him tighter, glad that Derek's allowing it. 

The last time Scott had been down here, he'd had been fortunate enough to be mostly out of consciousness, but now he's fully aware of his surroundings. It's the same place his mom died, along the Sheriff and Chris Argent, and Scott's almost thankful for being in the past, so he doesn't have to deal with the smell of their blood.

Even without the scent of the sacrifices' blood permeating the air, Scott can't get the scent out of his nose. He buries his face into Derek's neck with a quiet whine. “Sorry, I can't,” he whispers. “My mom- She died down here.”

Derek holds him tight, murmuring soothing sounds as he pets his hair. “We'll get outta here as soon as we can, promise.”

Scott bites back a whimper, just breathing in Derek's scent and concentrating on it. He can still hear hunters treading above them, but the phantom scent of blood has faded from Scott's nose. Unconsciously seeking more comfort, he slides his hand into Derek's, entwining his fingers with a little squeeze. Derek squeezes back, and the rest of the night passes by slowly, without the hunters finding them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Derek and Peter end up hiding under Nemeton for two days BEFORE Paige, but whatever, I can fudge the hunter times a bit. Mainly because Jeff doesn't do continuity well either, sooo. XD It fits, so.

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](http://shinyglorchan.tumblr.com/)


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